A 25 minute short with Jimmy Stewart; I can't decide if it's moving, or cloying, or an ad for the MoTab choir. At least it's got the Salvation Army in a scene so it's not pure LDS pap. It's also got a couple of filming gaffs that are quite amusing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUH_UqxWK58

Mormons loooove them some Jimmy Stewart, but then who doesn't? I honestly think many of them wish he'd played Joseph Smith instead of Vincent Price... :-)

SA is still a big old cult! They are mean, bigoted, & homophobic!

Saw it, and couldn't stand it. It was real coup for the corporation at the time they were trying to "mainstream"... but the story line was a mix of Walter Mitty meets "The Mailbox" https://youtu.be/1srLpGaXsBU

It was a lame attempt to pull at heartstrings and well up tears in eyes; but fell flat as far as "Christmas/Christian message. At least that's my critique. Love Jimmy Stewart, but his poem about his dog is much more loving, merciful, empathetic and sweet. https://youtu.be/mwGnCIdHQH0

I saw it when it came out in the 1970s. At the time, I was very TBM, but I wondered how much they paid Stewart to star in the movie. I guess even then, I was a wee bit cynical. The Boner.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/24/2015 05:44PM by byuboner.

I was told Stewart asked to be a guest conductor of the choir since it was a lifelong dream of his. So they told him he could if he would star in a movie they were planning on filming.

This was from a friend of a friend of an uncle who was on the production crew or something like that, so you know it is legitimate.

Saw it the first year it was broadcast. Love Jimmy Stewart but not so much in that role. Thought it was lame and contrived...just like every other LDS production.

RB

Man, I used to love Mr. Krueger's Christmas. I haven't seen it since I became an ex-Mo, though. I'm a little curious about what it would look like through different eyes. I do still have a bit of a soft spot for Michael McLean, and an even bigger one for Jimmy Stewart, so maybe I would still like it.

That's one of the weirdest things to me about becoming an ex-Mo, having to re-evaluate everything I've ever known and loved and decide whether or not it still has a place in my life. And the opposite too, I guess.

I remember going around the neighborhood (North County San Diego) in the 1970's with may dad handing out flyers for this short film. My father was a 70 (a ward position that has since been folded into the local elder's quorum) and he had to go around and promote this film to get non-members to watch it when it came on the T.V. I can't remember what channel was showing it.

Looking back, it seems that the church was manipulating the TBM's to promote the show to drive up their ratings. At the time we believed that James Stewart was doing the film out of the kindness of his heart.

It's based on the O'Henry store "The Last Leaf." Here's a
version which is closer to the original and preserves some of
the homoerotic overtones:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_xUFOPSUf0

That was the follow-up - https://www.lds.org/ensign/1984/04/news-of-the-church/easter-tv-special-to-affirm-lds-belief-in-resurrected-christ?lang=eng

Now exMo and as an adult I saw it. I thought Jimmy was a tool. It harkens back to a time when Mormonism had more credibility. Now it just looks like Scientology on Ice.

It was an elaborate scheme to use Jimmy Stewart to promote Mormonism. I doubt that today's mainstream celebrity would help promote the nasty anti-gay church for fear of injuring his or her reputation.

Yes and I liked it.

Freddy Krueger's christmas

Yep. I've seen it many times.

I remember when it came out. It was a big thing. The church went and spent money on a big production with a big star and it would show at prime time. The church still thinks 5 or 6 pm is prime time. the story was weak. There was no acting. Jimmy is just too old. My thought is god just isn't trying hard enough to call his children home.

I saw it many years after it was released. I knew that people loved the movie, so when I saw it I was very unpleasantly surprised by how hokey and clumsy the story and script are. And the production values suck! Those dance scenes are horrendous!

I love Jimmy Stewart, so it makes me sad that this was one of his last films.

I remember the video very well! The Mormons gave the video (probably bought in bulk from Deseret Books) to all their friends and relatives. We couldn't re-gift it fast enough! We just kept getting more videos.

Finally, we realized that EVERYONE was re-gifting "Mr. Krueger's Christmas." We got a huge laugh out of that!

I love what Kismet wrote--this is so true of my own life:

"That's one of the weirdest things to me about becoming an ex-Mo, having to re-evaluate everything I've ever known and loved and decide whether or not it still has a place in my life. And the opposite too, I guess."

But I knew, even as a TBM, that Mr. Krueger was too sappy, even for me--and I cry at Hallmark commercials.

Yes. Still love it. I've ginen it to several Christian friends and told them to ignore the other mormon crap on the DVD. They watch it out of curiosity though. But they've all loved Mr. Kruger.

We were a little too free with our thinking outside the box. Still active though. Someone arranged for the local sister mishies to invite themselves over to show us and our 3 sons Mr. Krueger's Christmas. We explained that we had watched it recently and were not ready for a rerun.

"Do come over though," I offered, we'll do something else. So at the appointed time they showed up, video in hand. "We still don't want to watch it again," we explained.

"Can we teach a lesson?" they asked. "No," we said. "Just stay for dinner and we will play some games with the kids." We probably even let them bless the food or something. As I recall they acted very uncomfortable the whole time eating nice food and playing games with our reasonably well behaved little family.

msmom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As I recall they
> acted very uncomfortable the whole time eating
> nice food and playing games with our reasonably
> well behaved little family.

But Mister Krueger would have enjoyed that evening.

Last year, my uber-TBM family dragged me to Temple Square to watch that movie in one of the visitors' center's screening rooms.

During the Sleigh Ride part, I couldn't help but notice a Chang in lyric: from coffee to cider. And now, just last summer in the Northwest, I learned about "Hard Cider" with alcohol in it! Those MoTabs would have been better off just sticking with coffee it now seems, at least coffee doesn't have alcohol.

I forgot about that one. I liked it when I first saw it, but it was way before I was a member.
I only saw it one or two times, then it seemed to disappear.
It was weird seeing him that old because on another channel ,he was a young George Bailey, which was his dog’s name on that show.

I forgot to comment on Peace Princess comment on the lyric change.
It reminds me when I first heard The Mormon Tabernacle choir sing “ Wild Blue Yonder”, the Air Force song, how they changed the lyrics from “ Off one helluva roar” to “ Off one terrible roar”
I was laughing so hard, I started crying.

I had a neighbor when I was still TBM, and he worked regularly in local TV production and had small roles in locally produced movies, but he was mostly in technical positions.

I just looked him up on IMDb but don't see he had a credit on that one, but I do remember the elders quorum having a Christmas party in the gym, back when they still did that, and they showed the movie. It seemed like it lasted lots longer :)

I was glad when it was over.

I found a copy of "Mr Krueger's Christmas" in a box of old VCR tapes, while cleaning out the garage. Our home teachers gave it to us one Christmas. I wonder if it's one of the re-gifted ones.

"I honestly think many of them wish he'd [Jimmy Stewart] played Joseph Smith instead of Vincent Price... :-)"

Vincent Price was a much better fit for that role!